Do private schools have better teachers?

[hercules1]

Read this on a different thread and it has peed me off a bit. I know lots of really good teachers who don't and won't teach in private schools. I've also known some teachers leave the state system to go to the private as they could no longer cope within the state.

Private doesn't equate with better teachers Of course it means lots of other things and I am sure there are lots of excellent teachers in the private system but no more so than the state.

Sorry, thought you said you sent your kids to private school.

I really don't think that you can generalise.

There are good and bad in both types of schools.

I'm still LOL at the thought that I'd be a better biology teacher if I had the right accent. Or wore posher clothes.

I do send my kids to private school. My dds' teachers are definitely not motivated by money. I'm pretty sure they get the same or less than they would in the state sector and they get no more holidays. Dd1's teacher can't afford a car, still lives with her mum and dad and has a strong regional accent. She's at school by 8 am sorting stuff out and she's absolutely fantastic.

Agree, Martian and the thought that anyone could choose a school, or rate a teacher according to his or her accent or clothes or salary is frankly astounding.

I think Xenia is simply applying her own values to an inappropriate system. In her area of work, the better, more effective workers get paid more. Ambition is encouraged and rewarded. Unfortunately this simply cannot be applyed to teaching.

Most of us go into it with our eyes wide open. We know it will never be a route to riches, but it does provide immense intellectual satisfaction. Financial incentives simply don't apply for most of us. Personally, I teach because of:
a)The sheer joy of the 'got it' moment.
b)The intelectual challenge
c)I'm good at it
d)The flexible working hours and good holidays

If I was motivated, like Xenia appears to be, by financial considerations I would have never gone into teaching.

I like working in a challenging school (well actually college). I've worked in private schools and the challenge wasn't anywhere near as great. I cannot describe the personal joy and satisfaction I gain from watching students I first encountered as illiterate, innumerate 16 year old refugees with a whole host of social and behavioural problems, graduate university. No amount of money, perks and small classes of well behaved high achievers is ever going to beat that.

Yes- I think Xenia is being a little tongue in cheek with those comments, perhaps.

what attracts teachers to private schools. i feel able to answer this as have several close relatives who are teachers...all of whom are in the private system.

we live in london which is a big big factor in this btw.

less violence. less classroom control issues.

worse pay and perks (pensions etc).

in short an easier and less challenging life, although you could argue that there is also the fact of being able to teach rather the whole focus being on maintaining sanity in the classroom.

does this make them better teachers? well, they are (my family members that is) very very good teachers.

however, they have plenty of colleagues that are plain awful.

having been to the private school myself (secondary) i can attest that some of the teaching was brilliant, most ok, and some absolutely appalling (esp in sciences).

at least you have to be properly qualified in the state sector.

Slug, well said. That's how I feel. And I think you're right about Xenia's values.

ooo slug, hadn't read yours or most other posts...so glad to x-post

Slug totaly agree with your reasons for teaching.

The 'light bulb moment' is quite something isn't it?

I remember teaching one (fairly tough) class, showing them a prism splitting white light. One of the kids, who could be a real handfull, just shouted out, 'Bloody Hell, where did the colours come from!'

Made my day

YOU DON@T HAVE TO BE FULLY QUALIFIED TO TEACH IN THE STATE SECTOR.

sorry to shout, but this is such a myth. I taught as an unqualified teacher in the state sector.

Nice post, slug.

At ds1's (private) school there are a significant number of parents who teach in local state schools. One of the parents is a headteacher of one of the local schools. I've assumed that they've looked for the best available school for their children, as most of us do.

In terms of value added, I'm not convinced that it is that great a measure of a school's achievement. In local state schools over a third of children have private tutoring from Year 3, with the proportion increasing in the final couple of years.

Yeah but they're stamping it out now. All have to be qualified by next year I think.

martian - no, you don't, but most private schools worth their salt would insist on it.

Wasn't that a training on the job thing, mb?

Martian and Slug, I think all 3 of us feel that way about teaching in the state sector. I'm sure teaching in the private sector has its own different rewards but I think we need moments like the ones you describe. Off to watch Waking the Dead now although I've missed the crucial 1st bit.

mb, sorry but i though you needed a BEd or a PGCE.

rather then just knowing the headmaster ;)

alll of the teacher in the private school my kids go to are fully qualified.

It is just such a myth that state schools only have fully qualified teachers. It gets trotted out on MN quite a lot. And is just isn't true.

And for what it was worth, I was a good teacher before I was fully qualified

You can work as an instructor in state schools without having or working towards QTS.

An instructor? Is that the same as a teacher?

Sophiable. I got my job because I had already done 2/3 of a PGCE when a job became available. The school wanted me to have the job, so they offered it to me, and then gave me a terms sabaticalto finish the PGCE after 2 terms of working for them. So in that respect I also knew the head! But is was more a case of them liking my style of teaching.

in some of the most prestigious private schools, (im thinking of many of the big name boys boarding schools for eg) they absolutely have many many unqualified teachers....oftentimes they are looking for expertise and experience in a field, and the 'right type' of person

Scummy, yes, except they pay you less. About £5000 a year less. And you continue to get paid less

Let's face it a PGCE is hardly that great. I have learnt far more in teh 5/6 years I have been teaching than I ever did in a smallroom with only adults in it and writing a few extended essays.